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Sorry-that was Keith who mentioned the original paint-must be the fumes...

Gary - call me crazy but a 4" and a 6" wire wheel on a var-speed drill works thru the original paint/primer. So long as you go slow and aim it away from you, it won't put racing stripes on your garage wall. Keith

Garage?! I WISH!! This is outdoor living via the apartment parking lot! Seriously, though Keith, I've been giving your suggestion some thought and will give it a try. I have a cone-shaped wire wheel and 7-amp variable speed, reversible drill that will handle the load easily. If that should cause any problems I can always pick up a wire wheel for my body grinder that would surely conquer all. I also learned that if I leave the stripper on overnight it loosens it all up then dries to a flaky residue that the wire wheel should remove with ease. I had to take an evening off last night but will resume tonight. If I can get it all stripped inside between tonight, tomorrow night, and Saturday, I should be able to lay down the primer on Sunday morning (that's the plan).

Thanks as always for the support!
Gary

I bet the land lord just loves you.... So do you pay extra a month to mess up the parking lot.

No no no-I use EVERY precaution as to not alarm the Apartment population. I only make noise when nobody is around, I clean up after myself, and keep my spare parts under cover in the back of my M or (oops-that's AND) my S-10. The only times it got dicey was when the hen across the way started cackling about where and when I should park it (the same biddy who thought I was dumping antifreeze out of the tarp after a hard rain). Oh, and the two days when I swapped the cab, and the bed, but that was out in two lone spaces far away from the office. Everybody is cool about it now (except the battle-axe across the way....)

Oh yeah, the M makes a good reference point for the pizza delivery guys, too-as soon as I say "Look for the old Army Truck..." they say "Oh, I know right where you are!" Makes for a hotter pizza since they no longer get lost....
Gary

Still at it Boys and Girls--even the wire wheel is crying for relief. I had to use my body grinder on some of the toughest remnants, so I will see about a heavier grade wire wheel that can attach to the body grinder, in order to work it all off.
Gary

Gary you can try a Zec Wheel. I tried one the other night on one of my fenders. took off all 12 coats of paint off from one side in about 2 minutes and didn't hurt the metal. I'm going to get some 4.5 inch blades to try. All I had was a 7 inch which is kind of cumbersome to use. I'm also not sure what grit I have, it has been bouncing around in the tool box of my daily driver for quite a while
http://www.joedue.com/modules/cart/navi ... nav_id/178

Brett

A ZEC wheel? Hmm, I'll go see about picking one up. Thanks Brett! My M will never look new again but I'd like the dash to look pristine and that has some of the toughest paint clinging to it.
Gary

Cal_Gary,
You crack me up with this statement "Everybody is cool about it now (except the battle-axe across the way....) "
It brings back some memories.
When I lived in town 15 years ago, I had this old battle-axe that lived across the street and she would find ANY reason to call the police on me. The police finally told her to stop calling because I had done nothing wrong. The only problem was that the police explained this to me also, I then pushed the envelope until I moved.
Post some pictures of your progress.

Thanks Highway-we laugh to keep from cying sometimes!

Oh, I couldn't find any Zec items at the hardware store, Brett, but I did find some Makita 4'' flappers that look like they'll take off everything short of steel so I'll give them a try tonight.
Gary

Brett wrote:Gary you can try a Zec Wheel. I tried one the other night on one of my fenders. took off all 12 coats of paint off from one side in about 2 minutes and didn't hurt the metal. I'm going to get some 4.5 inch blades to try. All I had was a 7 inch which is kind of cumbersome to use. I'm also not sure what grit I have, it has been bouncing around in the tool box of my daily driver for quite a while
http://www.joedue.com/modules/cart/navi ... nav_id/178

Brett

Those wheels are great, I've worn a few out so far! Gary, Are you using the Gillespie primer, if so, are you thinning it with ?

Man, I'm lucky, no neighbors for a few thousand feet in any direction, sometimes I flip my welding mask up and I'm surrounded by a dozen or so deer! (We've lived here almost 25 years)
If you need some help w/pic's let me know?

Thanks Guys! Bruce you are right-I tried the 60 grit Makita wheel last night-stripped half of the dash in no time at all and made me wish I'd gone this route in the first place! Since the flapper wheels have no "give" like a wire wheel, I quickly learned to apply just enough pressure and movement until I saw some sparks-that told me I was down to bare metal-polished to a mirror finish!

I don't have Gillespie primer but I do have a gallon of Gillespie 24087 for the finish coats. I've got mineral spirits for the thinner. With vacation out of town looming starting this weekend thru Columbus Day, I hope to finish stripping the dash tonight and laying down the primer tomorrow night so it has some protection while I'm away.

Pictures? Yes, but still a film camera. Once I need no more parts I'll spring for the digital. OH, let me ask this: If I send you jpeg pix from the CDs can you post them here?
Thanks,
Gary

Hey Gary,
I be happy to do it, send all you want, what I'll do is host them on my webshots page for you and post 'em here, if that's OK?

Well folks I'm still at it. Saturday was a great day to flap off some more paint, until the apartment assistant manager and her husband stopped by to rain on my parade: the old battle axe across the way again reared her ugly head and complained about the noise, so I packed all the gear up, move the M37 to the street and continued flapping off the old paint. This was around 12:30 in the afternoon-no matter that a chain saw down the road was as loud as my grinder-I still had to move.

Anyway, I know of nobody that enjoys this part of any restoration. It is just tedious, down right dirty work. I know, sandblasting would have been great, but simply not in my budget. It will pay off in the end, though, and on top of that, I finally ordered a long-needed distributor to replace the existing one, so once it arrives and is installed I can hit the road with confidence; which is why I am still prepping the "living room"!
More to follow,
Gary